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Wednesday, 11 May 2011

Lulu Update

Going back to last Sunday's Open Mike post, Lulu made it through her surgery fine today—the veterinary surgeon said the operation went very well and she's optimistic that Lulu will heal quickly.

Lulu's pretty zapped, and has a giant thick bandage on her left hind leg from top to bottom. But she was allowed half rations for dinner (and a cup of water) and downed everything, albeit with somewhat less than her usual gusto. I've come home armed with bottles of pills and pages of instructions for her recuperation. The vet says tonight will be her worst night.

I'm tired out, and I didn't even have anything done to me....

Mike

P.S. Grateful appreciation once again for all the kind words, thoughts, and deeds.

Watch for problems when she starts to itch during the healing process. I had a dog go through that sort of surgery and he tore out all the stitches to try and stop the itching. If she starts to bite at the wound you may have to get an Elizabethan collar (THE CONE) for her to keep her from being able to reach the wound. The plus to my experience was that as Ace's nurse during the healing he and I became totally bonded like no dog I had before or since.

Very good to hear! Our own dog has had two tumors removed. One was huge and required a huge incision and tubes to let fluid drain, and then the other could not be fully closed thus requiring extra time and care to fully heal. I felt terrible, but she fully recovered in both cases and is great today. She weighs around 70 lbs and in the latter case I had to carry her in and out everyday for a couple of weeks.

Get well soon, Lulu, so Mike can get some rest! My Lab, Otto, had this operation some years ago and made a good recovery. Trouble is he got so used to me rushing to his side whenever he whimpered that for years afterwards he would fake a pain whimper in the middle of the night just to see whether I still cared. Dogs rule!

Thinking of you and Lulu. Glad to hear her surgery went well. My husband and I just got our first puppy two months ago and I've been freaking out at every sniffle and whine she makes so I can only imagine the stress I would be feeling if she needed surgery. She's lucky to have you. Stay strong, she's a fighter, she'll be back to normal (or even better it seems) in no time. :)

I don't want to offend anyone, and I sympathise with Mike and his feelings for Lulu, but does anyone else find the outpouring of emotion here rather odd, for a dog nobody else knows, and for an owner that most people (I guess) do not know personally either. How much outpouring of sympathy is being shown for human beings who suffer and die every day, and who nobody knows either?

Richard,
I think we show a lot of sympathy for human beings here. There was a great deal of discussion about the situation in Haiti after Peter's essay appeared, and we have just been discussing privacy issues as related to street photography. You don't have to dig very deep on TOP to find concern for humans.

Pets are important to people who have them. Other pet owners understand, sympathize, and identify; those who do not have relationships with animals might not. C'est la vie.

Mike - I wasn't talking about any bias in TOP - I agree, the coverage is generously even-handed. More it was just people's attitude in general when it comes to balancing sympathies. I have been distressed by the loss of a pet myself, so I understand that - but it's nothing compared with what I feel when an unknown parent has to grieve for their child lost in one of the many unfortunate conflicts throughout the world. I was wondering how often people express their sympathies for these unfortunates.

best wishes to Lulu for her recovery, and to your bank balance. In my labrador's last month, I spent more on vet's fees than my monthly mortgage, and do you know, I'd have paid ten times more with gladness if it meant I had some extra time with her.

Lulu seems a young dog, and she's a terrier, who live longer than softy dogs like labradors. May you both collapse together of great old age, and a long time into the future. It saves some of the grieving that way.

Happy everything went well, she'll recover very soon and be back in her usual spirits. The whole story speaks very highly of you, Zander, Gabi, and Lulu.
I do not think that humans make animals any better than what they already are, but am absolutely positive that animals make humans much more human.
Very best wishes.

Re Ann Peterson, my sister once had a black lab that learned that whining trick without any need for surgery. I think it may be innate.

Richard, yes, it's odd. It would be odd even if we were talking about a specific person whom none of us knew. What's even odder is that we can get upset about people who we know never even existed: fictional characters. It seems to be a fact about human beings that we can empathize in this very abstract way. That can be a destructive thing when it leads to sentimentality, but it can be a good thing too.

Compassionate humans have compassion for all living creatures and do not place boundaries around that compassion. Compassion for a beloved pet in no way indicates lack of same for human beings in pain & distress. Indeed, it indicates a heightened awareness for distress in fellow humans and the subsequent caring that is rendered by providing help, money and attention to those needs.